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Church Hopes to Benefit From Sale of Land

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 09:00 CST

By Neil Strassman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Jan. 24--ARLINGTON -- A church on South Cooper Street is selling almost an acre of land near the University of Texas at Arlington to a developer that hopes to build a Starbucks coffee shop and a Chipotle restaurant.

The sale to N3, a Fort Worth development company, will help the Epworth United Methodist Church make improvements to its own buildings and pay off some debt, church officials said.

"Most importantly, the proposed development won't interfere with our operation," said Jeff Cyrier, chairman of the church board of trustees.

The church at 1400 S. Cooper was started in an old UT-Arlington agricultural barn on 3.5 acres more than 50 years ago. A new sanctuary was built in the early 1960s, and a family life center was built in the early 1990s.

But the church buildings sit well off the street, wedged between commercial development and apartments.

"We're not seen," Cyrier said.

The new building won't entirely block the view of the church from the street, Cyrier said. The coffee shop and restaurant may actually help people find the church, and that could lead to an increase in membership, he said.

The church has about 100 families and about 250 members.

About 95 percent of the church members who voted on the proposed land sale supported it, he said.

"This will enable us to do some improvements to our existing buildings and pay off our debt on the family life center," he said.

The restaurant and coffee shop project on the west side of Cooper, just north of Park Row Drive, was approved by the city's Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 15. It is expected to go before the City Council on Feb. 14.

"Once it is approved by the council and we secure a building permit, we will close on the sale," Cyrier said.

He declined to say how much N3 would pay for the land. Bryan Cornelius, a broker for Venture Commercial, the company handling the transaction, also declined to discuss the sale amount.

Neil Strassman, (817) 548-5520 strass@star-telegram.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

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Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)

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